Latest news with #BenHowe
The Spinoff
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Big international stadium tours are cannibalising local music
The calls are growing louder and more desperate for the world's biggest pop stars to include Aotearoa on their global tours. We ought to be careful what we wish for, writes Ben Howe. Recently, many have been asking why so many global blockbuster music acts venture no further south than Australia. Major artists such as Taylor Swift, Oasis and Billie Eilish have caused much fan angst – how could they pass us by? This has coincided with much discussion on large-scale events, among them competing stadium proposals for Auckland's Western Springs and Green MP Tamatha Paul advocating for an arena venue in Wellington. Music journalist Chris Schulz has been a zealous voice, writing passionately on the perceived shortage of global hitmakers visiting our shores. An arena show can be a memorable experience. I still recall, as a child, attending Bob Marley's legendary 1978 Western Springs show with my parents. However, too many international events coming down here can also have a hidden cost for local music, one which is not healthy for our industry and the overall economy. But, let's begin with one thing arena event campaigners and myself do agree on; that live music is important. A recent study by my colleagues at Massey University, Measuring and Articulating the Value of Live Performance in Aotearoa, found that live events benefit individual and community well-being. It estimates the economic, social and cultural value of the live performance sector at a hefty $17.3 billion. The research, however, also identifies that cost is the primary barrier preventing people from attending more live events. Simply put, individuals have limited disposable income. Gigs are expensive and we can't go to everything. A big night out, including parking, dinner, babysitters, stopping off at a bar in Kingsland before Coldplay, for example, means those same dollars can't be spent at a different restaurant, in another town, on a different day. This is why regions around Aotearoa seek to capture a greater share of the events market. They compete internally by subsidising various fixtures, hoping to encourage domestic tourism and boost local businesses. Crucially though, this substitution of the dollar also affects local music. If fans don't blow their entertainment budget on an epic rock night with Pearl Jam, then they'll get sweaty with Wellington's DARTZ instead. Hirsute metalheads might appreciate swords and sorcery with Auckland's Princess Chelsea, in place of Metallica. Imaginative perhaps, but my overall point is we know these sort of exchanges do happen. When the borders were closed (but we could still attend events) during Covid, people tried different things; local live music thrived. International arena events also don't grow the overall entertainment dollar, because they don't bring in overseas fans. In the 2024/5 financial year the international tourism spend was $12.2 billion, of which 9% was on 'entertainment'. Only 6.2% of visitors to this country said an event brought them here, but this includes personal occasions such as weddings. In this study, sport captures 2.5% and music isn't even mentioned. Instead, if we bring in more big arena shows, this will capture a greater share of our finite live music market. Most of these shows are promoted by the major multinational companies such as Live Nation and TEG. These businesses' primary focus is maximising market share. In order to achieve this, they consolidate vertical integration and venue ownership – clipping your dollar from the ticketing fees to the beer at the bar, along with everything in between. Among the live music infrastructure controlled or owned by these companies is Ticketek (TEG), Ticketmaster (Live Nation), Spark Arena (very convoluted but ultimately Live Nation), Laneway Festival (TEG), Rhythm & Vines (Live Nation) and many others. Overseas, this market dominance has resulted in accusations of anti-competitive behaviour. In addition to stadium tours cannibalising local music, a large proportion of the income and profits generated from stadium events in Aotearoa flows offshore. This extraction can happen via the sizeable artist fees, the international promoter's cut, ticketing companies and in many other ways. In contrast, with local artist shows and events, most economic benefits circulate internally. Riding this recent wave of arena show flag waving – or possibly generating it – some major international music promoters have started calling for tax incentives and government support. They say help is needed to assuage the challenges landing the desirable but slippery big fish. Apparently, we need to start pumping more megastars through the pipeline. How else will we fill all the stadiums we've built or are building? While public funding and support for arts, culture, and music is important, it must be used in ways that generate value for the local music community and economy – ones that support grass roots music and develop our own global success stories. We could also learn from our cousins across the ditch. They are developing intelligent ways to safeguard Australian music. One of these is called 'Michael's Rule', a self-regulating system where all international tours must have a local support artist. While international mega-gigs do have their place, to ensure things are fair for local artists, we need to cultivate more policies such as 'Michael's Rule'. In the arena show discussion, it is important to consider the interests of the Aotearoa music community.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Local F1 car manufacturers unusual take on very unusual project
A Formula 1 car manufacturer based in Swindon has been given the unusual job of restoring a giant frog. EVTEC Superlight, a carbon fibre brand located in Stratton, Swindon, does a lot for automotive industry. Now, they have been asked to help restore a giant frog that was found at a local school. Be the first to know with the Swindon Advertiser! 📱 💡 Our flash sale brings the latest local happenings directly to you. Save over 50% on an annual subscription now. 🔗 #SpecialOffer — Swindon Advertiser (@swindonadver) July 4, 2025 Ben Howe, 45, the quality manager at EVTEC Superlight, spoke about the company and how the frog project came about. He said: "We predominantly do F1 and motorsports along with aviation. We work with all the F1 teams other than Ferrari as they work in-house. "All the carbon fibre was sourced from us. 75 per cent of our business was F1 a few years back, but we have stepped back slightly as it is not overly sustainable. "We made the halo for McLaren cars and did the majority of the body work for Williams and engine work for Mercedes. "In the future, we are looking to get more into the aircraft industry with Airbus and Boeing. "We are now getting into the medical industry too and helping to build things that support emergency services." Recommended reading New neonatal ward opens to support premature births Pensioner 'heartbroken' after being turned away from cruise ship holiday Ship set to become world's largest reef had maiden voyage 72 years ago According to Ben, the company have helped create hanging frames from carbon fibre that can be put in the back of ambulances and hold and store more equipment. The frog came to them in a bit of a state with an eye smashed in and its coat of paint almost completely rubbed off. The company will be looking to give the frog happier days ahead. On the frog: "It was a bizarre day, we had a gentleman come and knock on our door asking if we could help with his frog. "I thought he meant an actual frog at first and was very confused, but then he showed us a giant made from glass fibre. "We said we are happy to take it on and try to restore it over the next few weeks." The frog was found at Gorse Hill Primary School by a groundskeeper after he was doing some work to cut back shrubbery in the area. Paul Lewis, 78, found the frog and thought it could be put to good use and used as part of the outdoor décor at the school. He said: "I work as an assistant caretaker at the school and was there to help out and clear the vegetation and incessant growth of brambles. "I was clearing a corner out with Ken the caretaker and this great big frog that has been decorated with multiple colours. "All I thought was that this is too good to throw away. "I knew of EVTEC through the previous company that they used to be under called Retrack, and so I figured if I do not ask, I do not get." The frog will return to the school as a community project in the next few weeks once restoration is complete. It will be used as part of a natural area that is planned to have a community garden. The headteacher at Gorse Hill, Candida Hutchinson, explained why the outdoor area is so important to the school. She said: "It is a good place to be, and we want to be able to invite the community in more and have parents more involved. "The frog being reused is also a good message for children to recycle. "It will go in the playground near the wildlife area, and hopefully sort out a community garden, and we are asking for donations to get this started."
West Australian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Lester Prize-winning artist Ben Howe heads to Esperance to share skills
A Lester Prize-winning artist will head to Esperance to share his knowledge with creatives and youth during a one-week artist-in-residency. Contemporary Australian painter Ben Howe won the 2024 Richard Lester Prize for Portraiture with his oil on panel piece titled Cartagena Library. The winning piece will be exhibited at the Cannery Arts Centre during a regional tour this June and July, with workshops being conducted from June 16-23 with school students and the community. Howe, who lives in Ballarat, said he was looking forward to encouraging more regional artists to explore their creativity. 'I do know what it's like to be in a smaller town and even though the geographical boundaries are somewhat blurred with the internet, it can still feel like you're a bit cut off from the rest of the world,' he said. 'Sometimes being an artist can be a fairly isolating experience, particularly outside of the major cities, where it's easy to feel like you're creating in a bit of a vacuum. 'The Lester Prize regional tour seems to me to be a fantastic opportunity for local artists to see all the portraits, be inspired, introduced to the practices of other artists from around Australia, and perhaps realise that we are more connected than we might think.' Howe said he was pleasantly surprised to win the prize, stating while he had been painting for decades, he did not enter competitions much. 'My practice doesn't really lend itself to them very well,' he said. 'It's largely experimental or process based. 'Each thing I do, I set up a sort of puzzle to solve, so a lot of my work is quite different, the process is quite different.' The Cartagena Library piece, he said, was a 'lovely little historical puzzle box for people to ponder'. 'The way I work, almost all my kind of things deal with memory or imprecise memories,' he said. 'This was a very strange piece and it's reflected through this enormous antique-looking gold frame which sort of links you back to history. 'The painting itself also conjures the memory of a historical painting, The Ambassadors, by Hans Holbein, so it sort of appears to be from another time.' To find out more about Howe's upcoming sessions visit the Cannery Arts Centre's website.
